ALEXA VOICE USER INTERFACE DESIGN

+FRIES

PLATFORM: AMAZON ALEXA, ECHO

BACKGROUND

BAD FAST FOOD CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Fast food users do not enjoy going through drive-thrus because they feel that they cannot hear the employee, the employee doesn't understand what they are saying, and communication breaks down between the customer and fast food employee, which may even lead to fights.

CHALLENGE

How might we use Alexa to improve the fast food customer experience?

The focus was fast food drive-thru users across the U.S.A. of both genders between 16-80.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

PROBLEM FINDING: Fast Food

Ideation and brainstorming helped focus the problem from using voice as a translation service to a restaurant service to specifically fast food ordering service.

Design thinking and Voice-First design assisted with prioritizing and finding solutions without being caught up in visuals.

VOICE USER INTERFACE DESIGN

The initial focus was to establish a script. For Voice User Interface Design, dialog was discovered to be the most important factor in creating the Most Viable Prototype (MVP). From the MVP, the user flowchart was developed to help re-focus the script.

From the MVP, the user flowchart was developed to help re-focus the script. The userflow reflected the Alexa userflow. The Alexa Userflow included Intents, States, and Slots, which helped developers to program Alexa.

+FRIES ALEX FAST FOOD ORDERING FEATURE

+Fries is an Alexa Skills Feature at fast food restaurants' drive-thrus that offers customers a menu choice and allows customers to select items from a menu for purchase and checkout.

The benefits of this feature are increased customer and employee efficiency, more customer understanding/empathy, and an easier way to order burgers.

Design Decision:

Focus on voice and script for initial MVP.

Rationale:

User Testing over Function. A creative solution to mimic the prototype was developed by creating a simulation of the Alexa experience. The Alexa simulation involved a recorded voice memo and youtube video because as a prototype that used to test on potential users.

Next Steps

Testing would continue with different menu items, such as Coke or Pepsi, depending on fast food customer demographic. Also, partnerships with busy cafes would be developed, where customers can order personalized food items (Kosher, Gluten-Free) when waiters/servers are occupied. This increased personalization can help cafe customers receive an better cafe user experience.